I've been thinking about donating money to a Buddhist charity, something I've never done before. I know there are less than desirable groups out there that suck up money without doing much, so I don't want to just choose one at random. Can anyone suggest a worthwhile organization that really helps people?

offthecourt wrote:I've been thinking about donating money to a Buddhist charity, something I've never done before. I know there are less than desirable groups out there that suck up money without doing much, so I don't want to just choose one at random. Can anyone suggest a worthwhile organization that really helps people?

The mission of the Shang Shung Institute is to deepen the knowledge and the understanding of the Tibetan cultural traditions in its religious, historical, philosophical, artistic, medical, and social aspects in order to contribute to the survival and preservation of this culture. Its purpose is to encourage cooperation among interested groups and individuals, thus keeping alive the essential values of these traditions.

How foolish you are, grasping the letter of the text and ignoring its intention! - Vasubandhu

Bodhi Seeds dedicates its resources to the support of monastics, students, and the elderly in the Himalayan regions of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet. A free health clinic was recently opened in Sikkim.

Pundarika Foundation supports the spiritual and humanitarian activities of Tsoknyi Rinpoche, including care for the Nangchen Nuns.

http://www.lotusoutreach.org/ - Lotus Outreach is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the education, health and safety of vulnerable women and children in the developing world. Originally established to support refugee education, Lotus Outreach now also helps rehabilitate survivors of human trafficking and keep at-risk students in school. We support this mission through effective grassroots projects, particularly among the rural poor.

http://khyentsefoundation.org/index.php - Khyentse Foundation is dedicated to promoting the Buddha’s teachings for the benefit of all through an effective system of patronage. The Foundation brings visionary thinking to the preservation and expansion of Buddhist education and practice across all lineages and traditions.

Kiva.org is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of micro-finance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

It appears to follow the philosophy of "give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life". The borrowers choose their own needs or industry to start or help their business and re-pay when they can, which allows lenders to then make new loans to other people.

Kiva.org is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of micro-finance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

It appears to follow the philosophy of "give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life". The borrowers choose their own needs or industry to start or help their business and re-pay when they can, which allows lenders to then make new loans to other people.

I would do a little bit of due-diligence on any micro-loan organization I was thinking of offering money. I am not besmirching Kiva specifically, but there has been a troubling trend lately with these loans:

We reprint simple and introductory Dhamma books in the local languages for free distribution. Topics are carefully selected on the criteria that they are relevant to all schools of Buddhism and present proper and easy understanding of the Dhamma. These books are distributed by our friends in the country to select population groups such as monks, NGOs, youth groups, village heads, community leaders, etc. (Read more).

Encouraging Dhamma scholarship

We contribute towards scholarship programs for monastics. This will support efforts to educate a new generation of Buddhist scholars which shall result in the sangha recovering its traditional role as teachers and leaders. We believe that the strength and resilience of Buddhist culture and society will to a large extent depend on the standards in the Buddhist sangha. We also contribute towards the cost of holding Dhamma and meditation camps and retreats organised by grass-roots initiatives (Read more).

Rebuilding infrastructure and community support

We contribute towards the building and repair of monasteries, schools and projects which run Dhamma education or community development programs with a focus on poor communities or which receive little public support..

Dear Friend, This doctrine of the great and precious secret oral tradition of Vajrayana Buddhism is as yet like a small butter lamp in a strong wind, and is consequently very weak. Such a state of affairs is unbearable for someone like myself. Even though I have now reached the end of my life, the responsibility has developed on me to build this new monastery and to establish new monks and nuns there. To benefit beings, it is my strong intention and desire that study and practice flourish in this region. From your side, too, I hope that you will have a strong motivation to aid this project, and to help as much as possible.

I know this is a bit late in terms of the OP's question, but I wanted to add this to the list in case anyone else is interested in donating to a Buddhist charity.

Founded by Bhikku Bodhi, Buddhist Global Relief provides direct food aid to people afflicted by hunger and malnutrition, promotes ecologically sustainable agriculture, supports the education of girls and women, and gives women an opportunity to start right livelihood projects to support their families.